Submission Opportunities # 1 & 2: Earlybird Special! Kathy
will gladly read your scripts during the 1/27 Congress
tournament at Saugus and then again during the 2/3 IE
tournament at West Ranch.If they
are perfect, she will approve and file them right then and there!If there are errors, she will tell you how to
correct them.Take advantage and get the
dreaded script task done and out of the way!Ask for help and advice!

All committee members please
attend; dinner provided. Coaches bring your scripts* early to give committee
members time to read them, but in any case, no later than 5 PM.You may also drop scripts off at Monroe prior
to the meeting; place them in K. Graber’s mailbox in the main office or take
directly to her classroom, M2.* Don’t forget to attach a 2018 coversheet
to each script with all required signatures.

NOTE: We want you to have ample
time to fix the problems that may be found.The sooner your problems are identified, the more time you have to
correct them.Do not wait until the very
end to get your scripts read; every year coaches bring “illegal” scripts to us
at the last minute, and then there is no time to make corrections and the
students lose their chance to compete at the IE qualifier.Avoid this by getting your scripts read and
approved as early as possible.

IMPORTANT! Whether you are
helping to read scripts or just submitting, prepare to wait around while your scripts are being
reviewed.Hopefully, the scripts
you bring all get approved, but it is likely that several will be returned to
you for corrections.Because mistakes
are commonly found, prepare to stay until all your scripts are vetted by
committee members.That way, you can
take problem scripts away with you and bring them back to Congress Quals for
Kathy’s signature.

Tentative Committees: (Kathy floats and reads in all committees as
needed; Jennifer Kindred will also help read scripts at Congress quals.No committee member may read scripts from his
or her own school.)If
you are not assigned and would like to help, please volunteer!

Sat. March 3 at the Congress Qualifier at SOCES in Tarzana

Note: If you are not planning to attend the Congress, you may
mail or drop off your corrected
scripts to Monroe High School by Friday March 2nd.Either place in K. Graber’s box in the main
office, or bring them to her classroom, M2. Contact K. Graber for the mailing
address if you are geographically distant and cannot drop them off in person.

Drop Deadline: Wednesday March 7at
the IE paneling session at Monroe from 3:30-8:30 PM.If vetted
scripts are not in the league president’s hands by this date, those affected
speakers will NOT be able to enter the state qualification tournament.THIS IS A HARD DEADLINE.NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE FOR ANY
REASON.New scripts will NOT be
accepted on this date.The only scripts
that may be submitted at paneling are scripts that have been previously vetted
by committee members and were returned for minor corrections, such as a missing
signature on the cover page.

Note: ALL coaches with IE entries MUST attend the
Wednesday paneling on 3/7.The IE
qualifier is NOT paneled by computer.We
hand-panel each event using cards.You
must be present to fill out your cards and help with the paneling.Please arrive at Monroe between 3:30-4:30 and
report to room E5.We will have coffee,
drinks and snacks and bring in dinner as well. Scripts brought to paneling must
have already been read by a committee member and all pre-identified problems
must have been corrected.Do NOT bring new scripts to paneling.THIS
IS NOT NEGOTIABLE.In fact, our script
policy is lenient compared to CHSSA recommendation that all scripts be
submitted to the league president ONE MONTH PRIOR TO THE STATE QUAL TOURNAMENT!

Finally, please secure commitments
from your students to compete at the state tournament.This includes their parents’ permission.Every year kids compete, qualify, and then
turn around—often just a day or two later—and tell their coach that they cannot
attend States.The coversheet that you,
your student, his/her parental figure, and your principal signs, is a contract.And it applies to the non-scripted events
(Impromptu, Extemp, Congress and Debate) as well.That contract reads,

NOTE: The 2018 State Tournament will be held
April 20-22.Students who are unavailable to attend on
these dates are ineligible to compete in the qualification tournaments.

Despite signing this, there are
kids who enter quals for the thrill of competing, or for bragging rights, or
for the NFL points, or for the beautiful qualifying plaque, and for whatever
reason, don’t really intend to go to States.Some forge their parents’ signatures and then you find out after the
fact that the parents will not let them go, or their grades have fallen and
they are academically ineligible to compete.We’ve heard it all.If your school prom or anther big event
conflicts with States, make sure your students are willing to sacrifice that
for States in the event they qualify.Note: TOC may conflict—make sure your circuit debaters know that.They have a choice to make!

It is not only a constitutional
violation to compete at a qualifier if the speaker is not committed to
attending States, it is highly unethical and unfair to every other league
speaker in that event.Every qualifier
wins a dearly coveted league spot at States, and those speakers fortunate
enough to qualify should dedicate themselves to representing TCFL at the state
tournament to the best of their ability and hopefully, bring home a state
title.MAKE SURE YOUR STUDENTS AND THEIR
FAMILIES UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUSNESS OF THIS COMMITMENT.

You will have a very short window
to register your qualifiers on the state online registration website (www.joyoftournaments.com).They are due Tues. Mar. 13; fees& forms
due one week later on 3/20!

One more
thing: the 2018 coversheets are posted on the chssa.org website.I will also have hard copies at the 1/20
tutorial.Each coversheet is 2 pp
long.The first page is your signature
page; the second page details an abridged version of the event rules and
manuscript requirements.Read the fine
print carefully.At the end of page 2 is
a checklist; make sure you can honestly check every box.For the complete rules, consult the online
bylaws in the state constitution at chssa.org.Feel free to ask me questions as they come up.I’ll do my best to answer promptly.And please come to the 1/20 script tutorial at Taft if possible.See you soon!Kathy